So I’ve been obsessing a little over Youtube for a while. I have found a couple songs that I’m completely mad over…in a good way. I’ve listened to them over and over for hours. So, I decided to share them with you! Aren’t I so sweet???

My favorite mix of SPiCa, feat. Chibita.

I just found this artist this past week. Meisa Kuroki. I love the album Attitude.

This album is fucking EPIC! *forgive the explicitives* I’m so excited. I finally got the album and have listened to it’s entirety. Vampire Saga is by far my favorite from the band, D. As much as I loved Neo Culture, that’s saying something. Asagi’s voice is as effervescent as ever. ^_^ This will be one of those albums that you’ll love every song. As of right now, I’m loving “Prayer of the Purified Rose,” “In the Name of Justice,” “Day Walker,” “Love Within the Coffin,” and “King of Darkness.”

Vampire Saga was released in January, but I just got it and I really wanted to share it with everyone! I’d give this album a straight 10 out of 10! Once again…EPIC!

I wanted to post something that was informative and fun. I’m always asked about Visual Kei and what it is exactly. Visual Kei is what originally got me into Japanese music. It’s similar to a lot of goth and glam rock that you would hear anywhere else. It actually means “visual style.” This is because the members of the band wear elaborate makeup, hair, clothing, and can be very eccentric. It’s often mistaken for cosplay. Majority of the time, the males dress as females or they simply seem androgynous. These males who dress as females are sometimes referred to as “lolita boys.”

Visual Kei started in the late 80’s, but grew very popular in the 90’s and has stayed a very popular genre. The following bands are certainly not the only ones. These are just a few of my favorites.

Malice Mizer – This band went through a lot in their time. They have three eras, which are distinguished by three different singers. The sound changed with each one. A very popular singer, Gackt, was one of them; his era was the longest and most popular. I’ll post two videos for this band since the style is different with each era; the first is Gackt and the second is Klaha.

The Gazette – Formed in 2002, this band has had quite a few songs featured in anime.

Phantasmagoria – This band is probably my favorite. Their music is so addictive. They took a couple years off, but they did release an album last year.

D – I love this band! The lead singer, Asagi, has a very unique voice. I love their style, too.

Versailles – This is a fairly new band, but I love the drama in their music. It’s almost like vampire meets Phantom of the Opera.

So, after watching a Korean drama, I suddenly became obsessed with K-Pop. Right now I’m really loving some of these pop/dance songs. I really wanted to share them with you all.

JYJ – I’m really loving Park Yoo Chun. His voice is amazing. My favorite songs are “Ayyy Girl” and “Empty,” and “Be My Girl.” Their songs just make me want to dance…though that would be bad since I am a horrible dancer (*points at self* nerdy white girl).

MBLAQ – Listening to them right now! The first song I heard was “Y” and it quickly became set on repeat. Lol.

SS501 – I became a fan of Kim Hyun Joong while watching Boys Before Flowers and so, of course, when I found out he was in this band, I had to get every song! He’s so cute!! I’m loving “Deja Vu,” “UR Man,” and Kim Hyun Joong’s solo “Please.”

Some other songs I’ve been listening to are: “Fight the Bad Feeling” by T-Max, “Eat You Up” by BoA, and “What Should I Do” by Jisun.

I decided to post more music since I’ve only got the one post. NOTE: This top 10 is only based on my opinion of the anime that I’ve seen so far. It’s by no means representative of ALL anime. These are also based on whether I felt they matched well with the anime or not. There are some songs I feel are chosen simply because it’s a popular song; it doesn’t match the anime well at all. If there’s some you think I’d like or are your favorites, please feel free to comment…I love discovering new music! Enjoy.

1. I can’t mention anime openings and not mention this song. It’s probably one of the most famous openings for all anime. The opening for Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C., Inner Universe (vocals by Origa). I think most people would agree that this opening is perfect for the anime.

2. This is one of my favorite songs. The first anime I ever watched was InuYasha and this is the first Japanese song I ever heard. Every Heart by BoA is the 4th ending song for InuYasha. The lyrics really do correspond to the anime well.

3. I think this video (though it has nothing to do with anime) is one of the most awesome PVs ever! Maximum the Hormone – Zetsubou Billy is the 2nd ending song for Death Note.

4. ClariS – Irony is the opening for Ore no Imouto. This song is so fun, just like the anime. It fits so perfectly.

5. This song is from the movie Origins: Spirits of the Past. Kokia has two songs in this movie (opening and ending), but the first, Chouwa Oto I think fits the anime so well. It’s so beautiful and it has some sad dramatic moments, which go well with the anime’s world.

6. Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi is the opening song for Vampire Knight by ON/OFF. It’s completely addictive.

7. The first part of season one of Black Butler is more fun than the rest of the series. So, the ending should be fun, too, right? It is. I’m Alive by Becca is also one of my favorite songs as well as in my top 10 of openings/endings.

8. Howling by Abingdon Boys School is the opening for Darker than Black. This song is sooo good.

9. Shell by Bana is the opening for Witch Hunter Robin. It’s so sad, but it fits so well with the story.

10. This one is only at the bottom of the list because at first I didn’t like it, but now I’m really loving it. Orange Range – Asterisk is the first opening for Bleach.

Finally, I’ve come to review my favorite anime of all. I do have about five favorite anime, but I think this one above all is my absolute favorite. Kuroshitsuji, or Black Butler, is just…EPIC! There’s more than just anime for this one, too, so I’m reviewing it all in one! There’s the manga, the music, and the anime…and a musical, which I haven’t seen yet, and a videogame, which I have yet to play.

Black Butler is about a demon, Sebastian Michaelis, who makes a contract with a boy, Ciel Phantomhive. The contract is basically that Sebastian serves Ciel as his butler until he takes his revenge against whoever killed his parents; after that, Sebastian get’s Ciel’s soul. It’s set in Victorian England. The first season of Black Butler is about Sebastian helping Ciel take his revenge. The second season is just the continuation, but introduces a new demon, Claude Faustus.
I don’t want to give anything away so that’s all I’m telling you. HA! On to my review.

Sebastian really is “one hell of a butler.” He’s attractive, but so very mysterious. He’s funny when the time’s right; I’ll say one word…cat fetish. Ciel, even though he’s just a boy, is very mature. I love his character because you don’t expect him to be the way he is. Granted, once you find out everything he went through, you’ll be more sympathetic and understand.

There are so many characters that I can’t describe them all, but I will tell you about a few of my favorites. Grell Sutcliff is my favorite character second to Sebastian. This guy is hilarious and utterly drool-worthy. Grell is a Soul-Reaper and is absolutely in love with Sebastian, or Sebas-chan as he calls him, which I’m guessing would be like calling him Sebby for short. Undertaker is, well, the undertaker, and he’s very creepy, but in a fun way.

Claude Faustus, who is only in the second season, is another demon. I know that a lot of people hate Claude and his contracted, Alois Trancy, but I actually like Claude. He’s an interesting character. I really wish I knew more about him than what the anime shows. I really do hate Alois though…he can just die! Some other important characters are Elizabeth, Ciel’s fiance, Madame Red, Ciel’s aunt, Queen Victoria, William T. Spears, another Soul-Reaper, Prince Soma, an Indian Prince, and Soma’s butler, Agni. There’s also the others who help in the Phantomhive manor: Finnian, May-Rin, Bardroy, and Tanaka. Oh, and I can’t forget Pluto, the hell-hound.

The story can be very dramatic and at times there are some real loving moments. Sebastian is devoted to Ciel in every way. You come to realize just how important Sebastian is to Ciel and it can be very heart-wrenching. One episode in particular where you realize this is the episode involving the camera. This camera shows, in the photo of a person, the most important thing to that person that has passed on to the next world.

The first season is out in English now, but the voices aren’t the best. Some of them are ok, but the Japanese version is better. Jun Fukuyama voices Grell, which is just perfect! Daisuke Ono is Sebastian, which is another perfect match. In English, the voices are done with an accent, which I think was a mistake. Finnian’s voice is the worst, Jason Liebrecht, no offense, I just think it was a bad match. Undertaker is way better in Japanese, too; it’s so much more creepy. The anime is at a total of 36 episodes.

The manga is so much more in-depth and is ongoing as of right now, 11 volumes. The anime stretches past the manga so the manga’s story hasn’t gotten to the point of even the first season of the anime yet. Usually I don’t review anything until it’s finished, but the manga is great, too. The artwork is beyond great and there’s so many more minor storylines.

As for music, in the anime, it’s so good. The opening for the first season is Monochrome no Kiss by SID, the first ending is I’m Alive by Becca, and the second ending is Lacrimosa by Kalafina. The opening for the second season is Shiver by the Gazette and the ending is Bird by Matsushita Yuuya. You’ll want to get all the songs. However, there’s some you’ll want even more if you love this anime. You’ll want to get all the character songs, too, as well as the soundtrack. The character songs are all great! My favorites are the songs for Grell, Prince Soma and Angi (their duet), and Sebastian. All the songs are sung by the character’s Japanese voice actors. I love them!!!

I can’t possibly describe all the good things about this anime, manga, and the music. I hope that the manga continues with the story in the anime and maybe past that so there can be a Kuroshitsuji 3! Watch it!!!!

Story: 10

Characters: 10

Artwork: 10

Music: 10

Voices: 8 (in English); 10 (in Japanese)

Overall: 10 out of 10

This is a video of the first ending credits. The song is one of my favorites and the video is…KAWAII!

Gackt – His voice is beautiful (as well as other parts of him). There are some songs that seem a little pop and some that seem a little more rock-ish so it appeals to both sides of me. He has some very heartfelt songs that I want to listen to over and over again. I started listening to him when he sang for Malice Mizer and continued to listen to him after he went solo. My favorite songs by him at the moment are: Ghost, Returner, Redemption, Seiipai no Sayonara, Farewell, and Seki-ray.

Phantasmagoria – Visual Kei at it’s best!! Riku *faint* is amazing…voice, beautiful…appearance, beautiful. Need I say more? Unfortunately, they band stopped making music together a while back, but their songs are worth listening to. My favorites are Eternal Silence ~Gensoukyoku~, Variant Jihad, and Neo-ark.

Versailles – Another visual Kei band; with another beautiful creature as the front man. There are some very dramatic intros and their PVs are fantastic. My favorites are: Sympathia, The Love From a Dead Orchestra, and Beast of Desire.

D – This band is the same as the other two visual Kei band’s I’ve described, but with a bit more femininity thrown in. My favorite is: Ouka Saki Some ni Keri. Yeah, just one, but it’s amazing!

Kokia – Her voice is unlike any other I’ve heard before. She has a little bit of an operatic sense, but it’s very gentle. Most of her songs ballads. Favorites: Ai no Melody & Cyouwa Oto ~With Reflection~. Both of these songs are featured in the anime movie Origins: Spirits of the Past. Ai no Melody makes me cry everytime I see the video…just watch it.

Well, I think I’ve wasted enough of your time for today…at least with videos. ^_^ Sayonara!

Eveamlizya

I'm a 22 year old boring stay-at-home wife. I love anime, manga, and Japanese music. I also love writing, studying the occult, and crafting. I am combining a few of my loves and writing reviews of the anime, manga, and music I come in contact with.